by Bill Keveney, USA TODAY

by Bill Keveney, USA TODAY

AMC has added an episode to the initial 13-episode order and will split the Emmy-winning drama's seventh and final season into two even parts, one running in the spring of 2014 ("The Beginning") and the second in the spring of 2015 ("The End of an Era").

The split-season format has worked well for another AMC series, Breaking Bad, which started its final season last year and is in the middle of running its last eight episodes now. The show is scoring strong ratings.

"This approach has worked well for many programs across multiple networks, and most recently for us with Breaking Bad, which attracted nearly double the number of viewers to its second-half premiere than had watched any previous episode," AMC president Charlie Collier says in a statement accompanying the announcement. "We are determined to bring Mad Men a similar showcase."

Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner says the scheduling structure will work well for the final-season story. "We plan to take advantage of this chance to have a more elaborate story told in two parts, which can resonate a little bit longer in the minds of our audience."

Mad Men, which stars Jon Hamm as 1960s ad man Don Draper, has won four Emmys for outstanding drama series. The extra season will give the series another year of Emmy consideration.